A former British Army Colonel has called for the pair to be jailed and they could face prison time if they ever return to the UK.
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Ben Stimson, from Oldham, has shared videos online from the grim frontline where Ukrainian soldiers have given up their lives to free themselves from tyrant Putin’s oppression.
Brazenly flouting his Russian military gear in one clip, Stimson waves around the Kremlin’s flag and gloats: “Yes, yes, I’m back in Russia. I’m back in uniform.”
He even produces an unexploded grenade from Ukraine’s stockpile, taunting that he’s holding “British taxpayer returns”.
In one he says: “Every man takes his choice… a lot of us, the foreign volunteers, have chosen to come over to this side, to the Russian side.”
Stimson, 48, is not the only Brit fighting for Putin’s ruthless thugs.
His “best British friend in the Russian army”, convicted criminal Aiden Minnis, told the Mirror he is also now a “sapper in the Russian army”.
These two are an absolute disgrace and are traitors who upon their return to the UK should be arrested and jailed
Former Colonel Richard Kemp
A former National Front member from Chippenham, Wiltshire, he and Lancashire-bred Stimson are the first known Brits to make the shameful choice to fight with Russia.
Former British Army commander Colonel Richard Kemp said: “These two are an absolute disgrace and are traitors who upon their return to the UK should be arrested and jailed.”
He added: “These two traitors clearly don’t know who the enemy is.”
In a sickening post, Stimson shared footage from the frontline of troops ploughing over mud, past dead bodies and land mines before digging up a hand grenade.
And the pair have shared pictures from Donetsk on Russian social media brandishing heavy-duty weapons in Russian uniform.
Stimson was previously banged up over terrorism charges for helping Russian extremists in their campaign of hate against Ukraine in Donbas in 2015.
He had told friends he was going there to drive an ambulance, but in fact admitted he had become a “soldier of the new Russia” after being brainwashed by propaganda online.
The sycophant even said he was prepared to kill brave Ukrainians on the frontline as “an act of war”.
Cops pounced on him as he arrived in the UK and he was jailed for over five years in 2017 for committing acts of terrorism.
Since returning to Russia in February this year, he has brazenly flouted his efforts for Putin’s army online.
The convicted criminal even sold his possessions to fund the visa and flight to Moscow.
These two traitors clearly don’t know who the enemy is
Former Colonel Richard Kemp
Before leaving he posted: “I’m ready to go now, bags packed. I just hope the British police don’t arrest me and make something up or twist things to incriminate me on something that does not exist.”
When he arrived at Manchester airport cops again detained him and questioned him under the terrorism act.
But Stimson was still allowed to fly to Moscow.
While police confiscated his phone and laptop, Stimson posted a picture of two USB drives with the caption: “Didn’t find these did you? You stupid thick b******s”.
His own dad, 76, has disowned him after the shame of watching his son fight for tyrant Putin.
He said: “I’ve cut him off. Before I cut him off he was in Moscow. I’ve been looking after Ben on and off for years and years. He’s on his own now. He’s 48 now he can do what he wants.
“He’s been a constant worry. I want a bit of peace at my age. You never know what he’ll do next.”
Minnis, from Ireland, described his choice to join the Russian army as “an ideological thing”.
A former drug addict with a lengthy rap sheet, Minnis was jailed in 2008 for a racist attack and assaulted a homeless man.
His own lawyer told a British court: “He was a member of the National Front, a class A drug addict and an alcoholic by the age of 20”.
The Irishman dubbed himself a “Z Patriot” and thinks Putin is “still the greatest politician on earth”.
Both men are likely to face jail if they ever return to the UK, and Stimson’s temporary visa expires in mid May.
He is based in the Pyatnashka brigade, an international militia that fights Ukrainian soldiers with Russia in Donetsk.
The Foreign Enlistment Act makes it illegal for Brits to join armies in countries who are in conflict with Britain.
But it is more likely that anti-terror laws will be used against the men as they were with Stimson in 2015.
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